Aircraft Certification Reform and Accountability Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 8408, the Aircraft Certification Reform and Accountability Act.

I want to thank Chairman DeFazio and Chairman Larsen for working with us to put together this bipartisan bill.

The Committee's response following the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines tragedies has been to take the time that is necessary to understand all the contributing factors in these accidents.

Throughout this process, I have taken the position that if the safety experts recommend improvement to our certification system, then Congress should act.

We now have the benefit of a number of nonpartisan reviews by aviation safety experts confirming that multiple factors were involved. There is only so much the United States can do to influence factors outside of our borders, but the experts identified issues to address those things that are within our control and made recommendations to improve our system, and that is the focus of this bill.

We can all agree that the United States and the Federal Aviation Administration has to--must--continue to be the gold standard in aviation. The safety of the traveling public depends on that, but so does our economy, our competitiveness, and hundreds of thousands of American jobs.

Plain and simple, we can't remain the gold standard if our system isn't safe. And one reason for our achievements in aviation has been our ability to leave partisan politics at the door and work together on critical safety issues, and that is what we have done today in this bill.

This bill before us today is going to require additional improvements beyond those which the FAA and Boeing have already undertaken. These changes are going to make our safe system even safer.

To be clear, the experts have concluded that the current system does not need to be dismantled, but that we can and should take action to improvement.

H.R. 8408 thoughtfully addresses the multiple contributing factors involved in the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines accidents that are within our control, as well as the many expert recommendations to improve safety within our own system.

This is a well-reasoned, comprehensive, and bipartisan bill.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 8408 addresses the nonpartisan expert safety recommendations to improve the FAA's aircraft certification process in the aftermath of tragic Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines accidents in 2018 and 2019.

This bill is responsible, comprehensive, bipartisan, and it is going to improve aviation safety.

I thank again Chairman DeFazio and Ranking Member Garret Graves and the committee staff on both sides, with special thanks to Holly Woodruff Lyons, Hunter Presti, Jamie Hopkins, Corey Cooke, Jack Ruddy, and Paul Sass for their work on this important piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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